RI “Cheat Sheet” — Providence Rents Among Highest in U.S. and RI Getting Hit Hard By "Brain Drain"

RI “Cheat Sheet” — Providence Rents Among Highest in U.S. and RI Getting Hit Hard By "Brain Drain"

Welcome to this week’s edition of the RI Cheat Sheet.

The weekly feature focuses on important and interesting numbers, data, and high-value factoids that impact Rhode Island and the economy.

1)Rich Are Getting Richer With More Brains

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Rhode Island is getting hit hard by the “Brain Drain.”

Richard Florida argues, that the “Brain Drain” factor is creating a “new urban crisis” of class segregation. “Winner-take-all cities,” such as Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, and Boston, claim a disproportionate share of highly-educated Americans and attract the majority of venture capital investments in the country. Americans with less education are often either left behind in stagnant economies or pushed out of expensive, dynamic cities.

"In several states, not only are those who leave more likely to be highly educated than those who stay, but outmigration is common. Alaska, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and West Virginia fit this bill. These states’ birth cohorts tend to have low education levels compared to the rest of the nation. Other states with high gross brain drain and high outmigration tend to have birth cohorts with medium-to-high education levels. They include most of the New England states (Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont); several northern Mountain states and Plains states (Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho, and Montana); and two Mid-Atlantic states (Delaware and Virginia)," according to Losing Our Minds: Brain Drain across the United States, published by the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee.

Overall, Rhode Island ranks eleventh for overall brain drain, but even worse for Rhode Island it ranks amongst the highest for losing the best educated.

2) Rents in Providence in Top 20 in U.S., But Salaries Are Not

According to Zumper, the real estate company rents are stabilizing. "Offering some relief after the last few months of growing prices, San Francisco one-bedroom rent stayed flat at $3,700, while two bedrooms actually decreased over 2% on a monthly basis. In the top 10, Boston inched up past San Jose to enter the top 3 markets again as San Diego dropped out."

Providence saw a minor dip, yet the city is still ranked in the top 20 most expensive in the United States.